Course Schedule for Summer 2017

Entertainment Reporting

From performances attended by presidents at the Kennedy Center, to go-go concerts at the 9:30 Club, to celebrity-filled red carpets at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington is increasingly becoming a go-to destination for all things entertainment. This course will teach students not only how to cover and critique the arts and pop culture, interview public figures, and produce entertainment news stories, but how to navigate the ever-changing media environment, confront the ethical issues facing the entertainment beat, and prepare for its future. COURSE OBJECTIVES Students will learn how to: ? Understand the history of entertainment journalism and its changing landscape. ? Label key entertainment publications, players, terms and current events. ? Navigate the tricky ethical landmines involving entertainment and gossip reporting. ? Develop a social media and personal brand as an entertainment journalist. ? Develop a portfolio of writing samples, including a feature story based on an interview with a celebrity/artist, a performing arts critique, and a mock red carpet article.

Note: Has prerequisites of MPJO 500, 501, 505 and 508 before enrolling.

Ethics in Journalism

Ethics in journalism is not a list of DOs and DON’Ts tacked above your desk that you refer to when someone hands you stolen documents. Ethics in journalism is a series of decisions you make constantly, every day, in the routine exercise of you work. How many sources are enough for this story? What are the implications of referring to “campaign cash” instead of “campaign donations”? How much of the defendant’s quote should I use? This class is therefore intended to explore the myriad grey areas that dominate the way journalists work and live, the blurry lines that divide right from wrong, or, more accurately, divide “probably should” from “probably shouldn’t.” The goal of the class is to help you understand the ethical implications of the choices journalists make, to empower you to navigate the ethical minefield of attempting every day to explain to the world the activities of other people. This course is required for all MPS Journalism students, and must be completed by the second semester in the program. Students must earn a B (3.00) or higher in order to satisfy graduation requirements.

Note: Needs an additional 90 min. of instruction outside of regular class time.

Immersive Storytelling Lab

Immersive storytelling is nothing new?—?we’ve been doing it with great novels, monologues, plays and movies for centuries. However, as technology evolves journalists are embracing this type of news distribution that fully takes the user into a storytelling experience. This elective course gives students the opportunity to travel to a new environment for seven days where they will immerse themselves in a story that they can then take to their readers, watchers, and users. Students will do this through 360 video, advanced video and photo production, audio stories, integrated social media and the written word. Using these immersive storytelling techniques, students will build experiences to help their audiences better understand complex stories, bring them to difficult to find places and put them in the center of a story. With a design-first approach, we will plan, produce and distribute from the field to give students a hands on experience of building complex stories on deadline and in the field. Prerequisite: MPJO 508 Video Journalism and MPJO 505 Digital Essentials COURSE OBJECTIVES ? Examine and collect a diverse amount of background research for a story that will be told during the term ? Develop several angles of a story to pitch to the team ? Plan and prepare work as a team using interpersonal and problem solving skills ? As a group, build editorial guidelines and ethics of producing content in a virtual environment ? Compose a comprehensive story with a variety of technologies that immerse the user in the content ? Generate a final product for distribution through various channels

Note: This course requires MPJO 505, "Digital Essentials", and MPJO 508, "Video Journalism", as a prerequisite. Also needs to be approved by MPS JO Program Staff as there is an application process for this course.

MPS Journalism Capstone

The Master of Professional Studies Journalism degree program culminates in the Capstone. Each student produces a substantive and original reporting project on a timely issue that showcases his/her talents as a prospective journalist. It should be a major work of professional quality that requires extensive legwork, interviewing and research and will become the centerpiece of your portfolio. The Capstone experience is intended to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate that they have the journalistic skills, ethics and initiative necessary to be a professional journalist. The Capstone project is an independent reporting endeavor. Class sessions provide feedback and structure. Group instructors will give you guidance throughout the semester, and your small groups will serve as mini-newsrooms where you will be expected to give each other feedback and support. Successful completion of the MPSJ degree also requires submitting an ethics essay that reflects on your firsthand experience as a journalist. The essay will be graded as one of the assignments in the Capstone class. This is a core course of the MPS Journalism program, and students must earn a “B” (83) or higher to pass the course. Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for more details. Students with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA who receive a final grade of a B- or below may receive one opportunity to retake the course, if approved by the dean.

Note: Students must have completed 21 credits in order to enroll. Course is a core requirement of the MPS degree. A grade of "B" or higher is needed to pass this course. Additional 90 minute distance learning required.

MPS Journalism Internship

Internships are a great way for students to gain real-world experiences and network with professionals in the field. Many employers require at least some internship experience to appear on a student’s resume. Taking on an internship while in the MPS Journalism program can help students integrate and enhance the skills they are learning in the classroom with professional, hands-on experiences. Students must participate in the internship according to the guidelines furnished by the employer, and they will be required to submit a weekly 500 word writing assignment reflecting on the successes and challenges of the internship. At the end of each semester, the student’s supervisor must complete an evaluation of the student’s performance, and submit it directly to the MPS Journalism program. ** Students must receive approval from the MPS Journalism program prior to enrolling in the Internship class.

Note: Extenive documented academic and experiental learning (at least 1 hour per week).

MPS Journalism Internship

Internships are a great way for students to gain real-world experiences and network with professionals in the field. Many employers require at least some internship experience to appear on a student’s resume. Taking on an internship while in the MPS Journalism program can help students integrate and enhance the skills they are learning in the classroom with professional, hands-on experiences. Students must participate in the internship according to the guidelines furnished by the employer, and they will be required to submit a weekly 500 word writing assignment reflecting on the successes and challenges of the internship. At the end of each semester, the student’s supervisor must complete an evaluation of the student’s performance, and submit it directly to the MPS Journalism program. ** Students must receive approval from the MPS Journalism program prior to enrolling in the Internship class.

Note: Program permission required. Extensive documented academic and experiental learning (at least 2 hours per week). This course follows the add/drop deadlines listed on the summer school calendar.

Pitching & Public Speaking

Note: This course is cross-listed with MPPR 600-40 and MPMC 890-40. Requires MPJO 501 Reporting and News Writing Requires MPJO 500 as prerequisite.

Strt Career Planning & Mgmt

Managing your career and continuing your professional development are cornerstones to success. Whether you are aspiring to your next promotion, searching for a new job, or changing industries, understanding the elements of strategic career planning and professional development will guide you toward your goals. In today’s world economy, learning and implementing these strategic are essential to both personal and professional well being and success. There are specific professional management strategies that will ensure preparedness, markateabability, and competitiveness for your next career move. Each week, we will focus key elements of strategic career development using the previous week’s readings and assignments, and by utilizing class activities that will demonstrate what you have learned. Individual participation and in-class assignments/presentations will be included to enhance the learning experience. This course will provide you with the knowledge and tools that can be customized and applied to your career and your vision for the future.

Note: This course is cross-listed with MPPR 730-40 & MPMC 560-01. Needs an additional 90 minute distance learning session

Web Development for Media

Merely using the web and digital tools is no longer enough for today's media professionals. Journalists and communicators need to have a practical understanding of how websites and applications work. This class does not aim to make you a professional coder or require any previous web development experience. We want you to come away with enough coding skills that you can effectively collaborate with web developers and continue learning on your own. You will learn about web development by diving into Git, Python, HTML, CSS and JavaScript. There will be readings and guest speakers, but the major basis for instruction will be hands-on learning activities. You'll learn how web developers work by identifying a project, breaking that project down into features and then building those features. By the end of the class, you won't just have a functional website; you'll be comfortable with the best practices of good development teams.

Note: This class has prerequisites of MPJO 500, 501, 505, and 508. This class is cross-listed with MPPR 779.